Learn About Me...

...so I can learn about you! But first, look what I found in TEXAS! I took these pictures last weekend at Lost Maples State Park in Vanderpool, TX. I think it is the only place in TX where the trees actually change colors.







Now, back to the learning part: I got this from Raw Edge Studio, and she sounded very serious so I thought I'd better obey! lol! But I'm gonna say the same thing she did..."If you opened this, fill it out!"

If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!

1) Favorite object in your room?
MY CHAISE LOUNGE

2)Have you ever been drunk?
YES

3) Do you own guns?
NO

4) What flavor do you add to your coffee?
JUST PLAIN OLD REGULAR CREAM, AND THAT'S IT.

5) Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
NO, BUT I GET MAD KNOWING THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE ME WAIT.

6) What do you think of hot dogs?
NAH.

7) Favorite song?
NO WAY I COULD PICK JUST ONE!



8)What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
DR PEPPER

9) Can you do push ups?
YES. JUST DON'T COUNT WHILE I'M DOING THEM.

10) Can you drive a stick?
YES

11) What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
THIS IS HARD...UM, I GUESS MY ENGAGEMENT RING EVEN THOUGH I NEVER WEAR IT BECAUSE I'M AFRAID I'M GOING TO RUIN IT WITH EVERYTHING I PUT MY HANDS IN; A SILVER BAND RING FROM JAMES AVERY AND THE RING I GOT FROM JAMES AVERY AFTER GAYLA DIED...IT'S A BIG MONOGRAM RING WITH AN "S" IN THE MIDDLE FOR OUR LAST NAMES AND A "G" ON ONE SIDE AND AN "L" ON THE OTHER.

12) What is your favorite pizza topping?
PIZZA

13) Ever been in a car wreck?
ONCE, WHEN SOME DRUGGED OUT GIRL IN AUSTIN RAN THROUGH 2, YES TWO, RED LIGHTS AT A MAJOR INTERSECTION, BROADSIDED MY CAR AT FULL SPEED, TOTALED IT, AND BROKE MY BEST FRIEND'S PELVIS IN TWO PLACES AND ALMOST RIPPED HER EAR OFF.

14) would you rather cook or eat out?
I WOULD RATHER EAT AT HOME AFTER STEVEN COOKS.

15) What's one trait that you hate about yourself?
procastranation...SAME HERE!

16) What's your middle name?
ANN. I AM A CATHOLIC BORN IN THE SIXTIES. I THINK THE ONLY CHOICES WERE ANN OR ELIZABETH.

17) How many kids do you want?
ALWAYS WANTED 3 AND NOW I GOT 'EM.

18) Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
NEW JEANS FOR CLAIRE; NEW BOOTS FOR CLAIRE; NEW SHIRTS FOR CLAIRE. (SEE A TREND HERE? TWO WEEKS AGO, ALL OF HER CLOTHES FIT. YESTERDAY, SHE BARELY, AND I DO MEAN BARELY, GOT HER JEANS ON AND THEN THE METAL BUTTON POPPED OFF AT SCHOOL! AS FOR HER SHOES, THE PAIR WE BOUGHT ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO WERE A SIZE 2 1/2, SO THE BOOTS I GOT ARE A SIZE 3...MY THINKING BEING THAT IT'S OK FOR BOOTS TO BE A LITTLE BIG AND MAYBE THEY WILL LAST THROUGH THE ACTUAL WINTER SEASON. SHE PUT THEM ON AND THEY JUST BARELY FIT.

19) Name 3 drinks you drink regularly?
DR PEPPER, DR PEPPER, DR PEPPER. OH, AND I RECENTLY ADDED KAHLUA AND CREAM.

20) Do you enjoy your work?
HONESTLY, 2 NIGHTS AGO I WAS CRYING BECAUSE I'M QUITE OVERWHELMED, WORRIED, AT THE END OF MY ROPE AND I NEED A BREAK.

21) Current hate right now?
Studio is never quite right. OH, I HEAR YA SISTA!!!

22) Do your friends love you
SHIT IF I KNOW. I THINK KAREN IN KINGWOOD DOES.

23) How will you celebrate St. Patricks Day?
I DON'T. AND I WILL PUNCH YOU IF YOU PINCH ME.

24) Where would you like to be right now?
BACK IN BED OR ON THE COUCH, WORKING ON SOME HOLIDAY STUFF.

25) Name three people who will complete this?
I HOPE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS WILL, AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE A BLOG THEY BETTER JUST EMAIL IT TO ME!

26) Do you have any weird habits?
WHERE DO I START? UMMM...I EAT/CUT THE CHOCOLATE OFF OF THE CANDY BAR, OR WHATEVER, FIRST SO I CAN ENJOY THE MIDDLE/MAIN PART WITHOUT IT. I ONLY DRINK MILK OUT OF A GLASS-NEVER A PLASTIC CUP. (AND I DON'T KNOW WHY.) I WILL ONLY PUT THREE FOOD ITEMS ON MY PLATE AT A TIME TO ENSURE THE DIFFERENT GROUPS DO NOT MIX. I DO NOT EAT OUTSIDE. LOTS OF 'FOOD ISSUES' IF YOU CAN'T TELL.

27) What shirt are you wearing?
A WHITE T-SHIRT.


28) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
NO-I'M STRICTLY A COTTON PERSON.


29) Can you whistle?
YES

30) What will you be doing in a year from now?
PRAYING THAT ETHAN IS DOING OK IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!

31) Would you be a pirate?
I DON'T THINK SO...TOO FEW LUXURIES FOR ME. LIKE INDOOR PLUMBING.

32) What songs do you sing in the shower?
ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!

33) Favorite season?
SUMMER

34) Favorite day of the week?
ANY DAY AS LONG AS IT IS SUNNY AND NOT RAINING.


35) What is in your pocket(s)?
NOTHING

36) Last person that made you laugh?
cLAIRE

37) Best toy as a child?
ANOTHER HARD ONE...THE BEST SINGLE TOY WOULD BE MY DOLL 'SALLY-JANE'. THE BEST VERSITLE "TOY" WOULD BE BOOKS. YOU CAN READ THEM AND BUILD THINGS WITH THEM.

38) Worst injury you've ever had?
PROBABLY MY DISLOCATED KNEE.


39) Do you love where you live
YES!

40) Do you get along with your family?
MY FAMILY OF ORIGIN: YES. MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY: MOST OF THE TIME. MY IN-LAWS: HELL NO! MY MIL HAS BEEN A BITCH FOR YEARS BUT I'VE BEEN NICE, TRYING TO KEEP PEACE BUT, WHEN SHE TOLD ME SHE "HATED MY CHILDREN" I DREW THAT LINE IN CEMENT.

41) Who is your loudest friend?
USED TO BE GAYLA. NOW I'M THE LOUDEST ONE.


42) How many dogs do you have?
2


43) Does someone have a crush on you?
I HIGHLY, VERY SERIOUSLY DOUBT IT.


44) How many cats do you own?
4


45) What are you gonna do this weekend?
EH, I'LL FIGURE IT OUT WHEN I DO IT.

46) Favorite ice cream?
SWEET CREAM WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES


47) What is your favorite thing from mcdonalds?
I NEVER GO THERE ANYMORE. HAVEN'T BEEN IN PROBABLY 7 YEARS.

48) Where is the next place you want to travel to?
ANYWHERE CHILDREN ARE NOT ALLOWED.

49) What were you doing at 12 AM this morning?
I THINK I WAS ACTUALLY SLEEPING, SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH.

50) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
"GOD, I HOPE CLAIRE'S NEW JEANS FIT!"


And Oh. My. GOD! I cannot believe I haven't blogged since early October! Actually, I can't believe the time has gone by that fast. I have all these posts in my head that I want to do, but can't decide which one to do first, so I guess they just never get done. I guess I can quit debating about the Halloween one! lol! I wanted to do one about Lost Maples-the pictures posted above-so maybe I should do that one next. Unless, of course, you want to hear about all of the laundry I did yesterday, and didn't even make a dent!

Live and Learn...

I've been playing with headers and names...decided to drop the 'ArtSmith' name because: 1) I don't get as much art done as I want too; and 2) it's too hard for me to separate the art and the daily life, so this has become a daily life blog, that I can use to show things that I've done. And most of the things I do have to do with sewing and not the mixed media that I intended. Things change, people come and go and life moves on...along with your muse, sometimes. My muse has been gone for a long time.

As of now, I am officially changing the name of the blog to "Live and Learn". Not sure what to do with my Flickr account/name. I don't even know if I can change my name without starting a whole new account. I'll have to check that out, but for now it is still the same.

And check out that new and oh, so cool banner! I should probably have just gone ahead and put a regular everyday one up there but I just love this one. I got it for free at "The Cutest Blog on the Block", the same place I had gotten the cherry one. Hopefully, I will remember to change it after Halloween!

There was a HUGE adventure for us last weekend...it was Valero Family Day at Fiesta Texas. And we went! Valero hosts this every year but we have never gone. I just have not been brave enough to take Ethan out to a place like that. But this past year he has made a lot of progress and I felt like I could handle the multiple meltdowns we were sure to have. I can't believe this myself, but, there was only ONE! He wanted to play a game and win a stuffed Bugs Bunny, and things just weren't working out for him. I finally convinced him to let me try one. So I walked around and took a look at all the games, finally found one I thought I could win-it was the one where you pop balloons with darts. I even studied it for a while to see how the darts were weighted to make it harder for you to win. lol! So I finally decided to go for it, and just a few pops later, all three kids had stuffed toys!

I'm going to go ahead and brag here for a bit...I handed them my three tickets for 3 tries, and you had to pop one balloon for a small, two for a medium and three for a large. *Oh-side note...Ethan didn't trust me and thought Steven was a better shot. So, Steven played for Ethan and I was playing for the girls.* My very first 3 tries I won a medium Bugs Bunny for Claire! Steven tried 3 times and missed every single one. hee-hee-hee! I was now in charge of all of the tickets. Took 3 more tries and won a medium Tweety Bird for Allison, and used the last 3 to get something for Ethan. I only hit 1 balloon. That was it-no more tickets. So Ethan chose the small Bugs Bunny, and I thought for sure Meltdown City was upon us! But, nope. He liked the small one, because it looks more like a baby! Yee-haaaaawwww! Everyone was happy. Of course, Steven will never live down his complete and total loss to my incredibly amazing score! The new rule around here is that the girls have to say "my MEDIUM sized Bugs Bunny/Tweety that MOMMY won".


So, here is a shot of the two big guys in one of those teeny tiny cars...


They managed to do ok in the end though...


And one of the girls on the swings.


I had to go on one of the rollercoasters with Claire. The Roadrunner, I think. It wasn't the biggest one, but the next one down. Still to big for Claire, I think, but she just had to ride it. That girl has no fear! She wanted to go over and over but I thought that one heart attack that day was enough.

Long update, so I'll stop now. I have been working on some Halloween decorations and some things for a Day of the Dead Shrine; so someone please remind me to take pictures of it all before I take it down!

Conversations with Ethan

We are getting ready to go out to eat, so we told Ethan to go upstairs and "get dressed", thinking that he would (at almost 12 years of age) know to put on some clean, decent, presentable clothing along with a pair of shoes. You know...like 2 shoes. One for each foot.

He does go upstairs, but then comes back down wearing a black watch plaid flannel nightshirt that I made for Steven 15 years ago (I also made matching ones for me and Allison), a pair of polar fleece pajama pants and one, yes ONE (1), not one pair...just one...Croc shoe. The other foot was bare.

Steven: Ethan...I told you to go upstairs and get dressed so we could go out to eat! You cannot wear that, so go back upstairs and put on real clothes!

Ethan: What??? It's just a Mexican restaurant...not church or anything!


Ummmm...I have no idea where this philosophy came from! Just the special brain mode of a pre-teen boy, perhaps?

Moving on...so many stories I'd love to share about school but, I am actually afraid of being "Dooced" by my teacher. Guess they will have to wait until the end of the semester. Got my first big project done today, will have a test on Thursday and then I have a paper due on October 1. After that it is pretty much smooth sailing, other than the regularly scheduled tests. I'm anxious to get my grade back from today though, because it is something that could be very subjectively graded...and she definitely plays favorites...with boys. At least they are college age, I guess, but it is still gross to watch. After taking coughsevencough years to get my undergraduate degree, I have never had a teacher like this. She never has a lecture prepared ahead of time and actually has to Google things during class that I know off the top of my head! She actually works as a therapist, also. I'm afraid for her patients.

And because it is NEVER dull around these parts: there was/is a tarantula in my neighbor's flower bed and the AirLife (LifeFlight) Helicopter had to transport a child from our elementary school to the hospital yesterday. Except for the actual incident, I watched just about everything unfold and happen. It is absolutely heartbreaking, and no one is releasing any information at all about it, so no one knows what kind of condition the child is in. I *think* I know the child that was hurt, but I'm not sure, and no other parent has any clue at all...the only reason I *think* I know is because I *think* it was a special ed student that actually responds really well to Ethan, so if he is refusing to do something for a teacher, they will call Ethan out of class to come help and he will usually do anything Ethan says. He is nothing but absolutely sweet and hugs me and Ethan everytime we see him, which is usually at dismissal. Anyway...whether or not it was him, a child was hurt and seriously enough that he needed to be airlifted to the hospital and I have no idea how he is doing! I understand the privacy laws and all of that, but...I think at this point the school could at least send out an email letting people know the condition the child is in. It happened right at dismissal time, and every kid in that school knew that there were fire trucks and an ambulance there...the helicopter didn't arrive until most of the kids were gone, but we all know that someone was hurt. And it really hurts not knowing or being able to help the family or anything like that.

Blah, blah, blah...rambling at this point.

Before I go, I'd like to give a shout out to my camera's USB cord. Hey, USB cord! Answer when we are calling you, alright? I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

I DID IT!

Well look at that! I 'customized' my banner All. By. My. SELF! It is a free banner from "The Cutest Blog From the Block". They have tons of free banners and backgrounds, plus they do custom work. Check them out if you are ever thinking about changing anything...they have such great directions on how to do everything I was able to do this banner in about 20 minutes and that is because I don't know the FIRST THING about this kind of stuff. People who do can do this in about 20 seconds. They come "Highly Recommended" by me, the Anti-TechnoGeek.

Construction Zone

Obviously, I'm playing around with this header business...please bear with me as I am a little slow on the uptake with all of this techie stuff!

Conversations with Claire

Claire: I found love today. I was able to admit it, and he feels the same way about me and he's French.

Me: Oh, that's nice. What's his name?

Claire: Timothy. And he's French.

(I'm wondering if she thinks he comes with fries?)

School Started

For all of us! Well, except for Steven. I decided I wanted to go back and maybe get a Master's Degree but, I have to bring up my GPA just a *teensy* more. So I signed up for 2 classes (6 hours) at a local community college, and hopefully I'll be able to do that. One class is Psychology of Personality-my absolute favorite subject every single day of my life, so I'm liking that one so far. The other is Educating Young Children. Not sure how I like that one yet because we have yet to get a teacher! We should find out today what is going on once and for all. So keep your fingers crossed.

I knew my eyesight wasn't what it used to be, so I made an appointment to get my eyes checked last week, and the appointment was for Saturday. I'll be getting my new glasses soon...bifocals. But! she says, They're seamless! Yeah, but I still hear the word 'bifocals' and think of a 101 year old little lady sitting in a rocking chair and knitting or something. lol! But, they are also purple, so they are cool. Just one more sign I'm getting older. Hopefully, they will be here soon because my eyes are killing me and I'm getting some bad headaches...which I do NOT understand, because I read all the time. Every day I'm reading one book or another. The only conclusion I can come up with is that if you are reading for pleasure, that's one thing, but if you are reading because you have to really remember it, that a whole other level of concentration and eye strain.

In short...we survived another summer. And this one was one of the better ones. The school let us know who Ethan's teacher would be for this year hoping that knowing what was going to happen and where he was going the first day would help calm some of his anxiety, and it worked! Something worked anyway, and that was the only thing new, and he was looking forward to the start of the school year all summer! I'm already worrying about next year though...he will start middle school and I'm really not sure how he is going to react to all of the changing classes and chaos in the halls. Well, I do know how he will react to it. I'm just wondering if I will have to pull him out and homeschool him. I'm going to try and do some research on that this year because I have no idea how to start or what to do. Do I have to register with the state? Where do you get lesson plans? Or, at least the information about what they are supposed to be learning? If anyone reading this has any knowledge on this subject, please let me know...I would truly appreciate it!

I'll leave y'all with one parting shot of summer - a total Smith Classic. My dad on the beach, fully clothed!


And now it's time for me to head off to class. :)